Betrayal
by Shadrac
Summary: A sudden flash of memory and an overheard conversation starts Harry on journey to rediscover something he lost in sixth year. What he finds could change, not only his life, but those of every one close to him as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Betrayal**

'I kissed Hermione,' Harry thought to himself as he watched her put on her makeup, 'will she let me to do it again?' he wondered as an afterthought. He didn't know, but he was about to find out. They were in a bedroom in the Burrow, the room was quiet but the rest of the house, along with the grounds outside were a hive of activity. A wedding dress stood in the corner. It was Ron and Hermione's wedding day. Everyone there was looking forward to it except him. He was planning to stop it.

The kiss happened in their sixth year and it wasn't the fact that they'd kissed that surprised him but that he'd only recently remembered it. It had happened the night they announced their engagement. At first he was extremely happy for them and quickly congratulated them but when he hugged his bushy haired best friend something strange happened as he felt her breath on his neck, heard her softly chuckle in his ear and was bombarded by the smell of her hair as it covered his face. An image flashed through his mind of a late night kiss in the Gryffindor common room and suddenly he didn't want to let her go as a surge of protectiveness hit him that seemed to scream at him that she was in danger.

He quickly dismissed it as a momentary mental moment and spent the rest of the evening celebrating with his two best friends. He was careful not to let on that anything was wrong so he wouldn't alarm Ron or Ginny (two of the most jealous people he knew) and ruin the night for Hermione because, above all else, he wanted her happy. He thought the image must have been some old fantasy or perhaps something from a dream he might have had while in school because he had no memory of it happening nor could he imagine kissing her and nothing coming of it much less forgetting about it. But now that he'd seen it, he couldn't get it out of his head.

Over the next several weeks, it was on his mind constantly. He even dreamed about it. Soon it became more than an image and he started to wonder if it was indeed a memory that he'd somehow forgotten. The odd thing was, he was still as in love with Ginny as ever but also suddenly had feelings for Hermione. It was like he had two hearts, one was in love with Ginny while the other loved Hermione. This perplexed him and he became obsessed with figuring out why he suddenly felt the way he did and why he'd lost what should have been a precious memory from sixth year.

He found himself thinking constantly about his sixth year trying to find where the missing memory fit and see if there were any others that he'd lost from that year. His memories of Hermione seemed to be limited to arguing with her about his use of what turned out to be Snape's old potions book, telling her about his lessons with Dumbledore and her being jealous over Ron dating Lavender Brown. He found it odd that there weren't any memories of them spending time together happily. There were no smiles or laughter or hugs, in fact there was no affection of any kind. The first five years had been full of those moments and he couldn't imagine that sixth year could have been devoid of them and still have them remain friends. Something didn't add up and he wasn't going to stop until he figured it out.

His first thought was to talk to Hermione because she was the one he always went to for help finding answers but he quickly realized he couldn't for two reasons. One being that she was too busy planning her wedding and simply didn't have the time, the second was because every time he saw her he had an almost uncontrollable urge to try to relive that kiss and the last thing she needed was for him to horribly complicate her life not to mention it could cost him his two best friends, his girlfriend and put him on the outs with the entire Weasely clan. Not wanting any of those things to happen, he decided to let her sit this one out for the time being. He couldn't talk to Ron for the same reason. He briefly considered talking to Ginny about it but something screamed inside him not to tell her or trust her so he decided to try to work this out on his own.

Over the next few months, he made very little progress on his little quest despite spending most of his time alone because Ginny, Ron and Hermione were constantly tied up with wedding preparations. He realized that he hadn't really spent any time with Ron since the engagement party. They had normally got together regularly for guys nights where, among other things, they played chess (with Ron winning), had long quidditch discussions (Ron's favorite topic) and lots of drinking ensued. Ron seemed to have matured since the end of the war and had seemed to lose some of that lazy streak he had in school, in fact, he seemed to be trying to make up for it by constantly bringing his two best friends drinks whenever they were together. Harry was glad that he was being good to Hermione but found it odd that Ron felt the need to do the same for him.

As the wedding approached, something inside told him he was running out of time. The week of the wedding, preparations went into high gear. Harry himself had even been enlisted to help. One morning, as he was headed into the kitchen at the Burrow to get his assignment for the day, he heard two people talking. He realized quickly that it was Ginny and her mother. Unable to resist the opportunity to hear what Ginny might say about him behind his back, he decided to listen at the door. He felt a little uncomfortable about spying and firmly decided that he would only listen for a few minutes and, if they weren't talking about him, he would leave them alone and give them their privacy.

"So how did you slip it to him?" Ginny asked her mother.

"I offered to bring your father some tea and put the potion in it before I gave it to him," Mrs. Weasley answered proudly. "By that evening, we were a couple and the rest is history. How'd you give it to Harry?"

A shock went through Harry at what he'd heard. Mrs. Weasley had given her husband a love potion? Had Ginny done that to him? He carefully leaned closer to the door to hear her answer.

"Ron caught me with it and took it away from me. He wigged out on me saying that if Harry and I were meant to be together it would happen naturally and not to try and force it." She answered her mother. "The next day, however, he came to me acting a little strange and started asking me about the potion and how it works. When I told him he asked for a second bottle and said he would make sure Harry drank it. Apparently you were right because, like with you and dad, we've been a couple ever since."

He couldn't believe what he'd just heard. His best mate had set him up for his sister. Anger rose within him at the betrayal and he wanted nothing more at that moment than to curse the both of them to oblivion. He swallowed down his anger before entering the kitchen. He decided to find an excuse to leave the burrow so he could go to St Mungos and get checked out and hopefully cured of the effects of whatever potion they'd been giving him and then prepare for the confrontation he knew now was coming that might include not just the two youngest Weasleys but the rest of the clan as well.

When he walked into the kitchen they both smiled and greeted him warmly then Ginny came up to him, kissed him and pulled him into a hug. Although her touch now disgusted him, he hugged and kissed her back because he didn't want to tip his hand until he was ready to play it. Soon the other residents of the house began making their way downstairs for breakfast. Ron and Hermione's arrival was announced ahead of time because they could be heard arguing all the way down the stairs and into the dining room. She had assigned him a task for the wedding preparations that, in typical Ron fashion, he failed to complete. When he saw her, an alarm went off inside him. He and Hermione kissed one night and next thing you know; they're both in love with a Weasely. Had Ron slipped her a love potion as well? He asked himself. He was pretty sure he knew the answer. If he was willing to do it to one best friend, why not the other? He was determined to find out and get her cured too if necessary.

Soon the morning post arrived and the conversation quieted as people read their mail. There were several copies of the daily prophet that were being read around the table. Mr. Weasely was reading the front page of one while Ron was checking the quidditch scores and George was checking out the latest ad for his store. Hermione, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were huddled around a stack of letters that he figured were responses to invitations or something else to do with the wedding. He'd been surprised to have a letter drop in front of him and had opened it to find the excuse he needed to get away from the Burrow. It was from Gringotts asking him to stop by as soon as possible. Suddenly Hermione yelled out as she read a particular letter and everyone at the turned toward the three women. The two Weasely women were simultaneously trying to comfort her while glaring at Ron. He was red in the face and asked loudly "What?"

"You told me you'd taken care of this," Hermione answered hotly while tossing the letter at him.

He read the letter then shrugged.

"I was getting around to it," he responded finally. "What's the big deal it's just a bunch of trinkets?"

"Oh Ron, you are truly clueless," she answered in a huff. "We aren't having a large wedding, only our closest friends and family. Those weren't merely trinkets they were specific gifts for specific people to thank them for coming and tell them how much they meant to us. Because you failed to pick them up, they've been put back on the shelves and have probably been sold to someone else now. Our wedding is in four days and I don't have time to pick out new ones"

Her eyes filled with tears and she buried her face into her hands. Mrs. Weasley again tried to comfort her and threw another glare at Ron.

"Fine," Ron said sullenly. "I'll go get them as soon as I finish breakfast." He trailed off muttering something about stupid trinkets.

"No you won't Ronald Weasley!" His mother said fiercely. "You've already got a full schedule and don't have time either and don't think I didn't hear you muttering under your breath. Arthur, since he can't be trusted on his own, I want you to go with him and make sure he does everything he's supposed to and doesn't play around."

"But Molly dear," Mr. Weasely responded. "I have to go to work."

"You have plenty of sick time saved up and you're going to have to take some because your son apparently still needs a babysitter and I don't have time to do it myself. As it is I still have to find a way to clean up this mess. Its like he's never matured past the age of five."

Ron was looking positively indignant at his mother's tirade while Harry and George were fighting hard not to laugh.

"I can take care of it for you," Harry said into the sudden quiet.

Everyone looked at him including Hermione who lifted her face out of her hands with an expression that was shocked mixed with hope.

"Really Harry?" She asked him. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

He held up his letter for everyone to see.

"Apparently, I have to go to Gringotts today," he responded. "So I'll be out anyway. Send them a letter and ask if they can give you an hour or so to pick them up and I'll go get them for you on my way to the bank."

She jumped up, ran around the table and pulled him up into a warm hug. He felt all tingly in her embrace and was sad when she let him go.

"Thank you Harry," she said after the hug. "You don't know what this means to me. I mean, I know it's not the most vital detail of the wedding but it's important to me."

"You've always been there for me Hermione," he replied warmly. "I'll always be there when you need me." He put his hand on her shoulder fighting the urge to pull her back into his arms. Once he had regained control of his emotions, he met her eyes his expression turning serious. "Don't worry, I won't let you down."

She hugged him again and then threw a glance at Ron who was glaring at both of them probably jealous of the affection they were showing each other at that moment.

"At least I have someone I can depend on," she responded loudly taking one more shot at her fiancé.

_Inspiration woke me up one morning and wouldn't let me alone until I wote this story. It's complete and I will post a new chapter every couple days. Reviews are welcome._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Hours later, he walked into St Mungos carrying two packages. One had the guest gifts or "trinkets" as Ron called them and the other some documents he needed to look over regarding his accounts and investments that he'd received after his meeting at the bank. He was pretty sure he wanted to stop the wedding at all costs but that didn't include messing up the errand he'd undertaken to help out. He hadn't done it to help with the wedding; he'd simply done it for her and despite his suspicions, he had no proof the she'd been tricked into drinking a love potion like he was. For all he knew, she might really love Ron. That thought sent a shudder down his spine and made him more determined than ever to prove his suspicions were correct.

He made his way to the correct ward and soon was examined by a healer. The healer cast a diagnostic spell on him and he waited a few minutes until she gave him the results.

"It appears Mr. Potter," she began. "That you have indeed been a victim of an illegal love potion. Its one that wears off after about six months and I would say its been administered to you several times although not in the last three months or so."

Harry thought back to the guy's nights with Ron and all the drinks he kept bringing him. Nights that stopped once the wedding planning went into high gear and rage once again welled up inside him.

"Can you cure me?" he asked.

"Certainly," she said confidently. "This will just take a few minutes."

She waved her wand and spoke the proper incantation and he felt a warm sensation come over him and soon he was himself again. Suddenly he was inundated with sixth year memories that he hadn't had before. It took him a few minutes to process the flood of lost images and feelings until he had them at least in some semblance of an order in his mind. Like the first five years of school there were numerous moments of affection between him and Hermione, in fact, they were closer than they'd ever been. He saw clearly now, moment by moment, how they ended up sharing a kiss that night in the common room. He could also see the radical difference starting the next day, as they were both strangely fawning over the two youngest Weaselys and hardly paying attention to each other. He opened his eyes to see the healer looking at him with concern.

"Are you okay Mr. Potter?" she asked

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "But..."

"What is it?" she encouraged.

"Well," he started. "I seem to have a lot more memories than I did before you cured me. Is that normal?"

She pursed her lips in distaste.

"Unfortunately, with this type of potion it is," she responded. "It's a dastardly concoction that doesn't merely make you think you're in love with someone else, it changes not only your feelings for the one you actually do love, but also changes your memories of them so you forget you ever cared about them at all. I think I'll go call an auror so you can have the vile minx that did this to you arrested"

"That won't be necessary," he said quickly.

She stopped short as she was reaching for the doorknob.

"But a grievous crime has been committed against you!" she said incredulously. "I have a duty to report it."

"I understand," he replied. "But I'm not the only victim. I believe the girl I fancied at the time was given the potion as well. I have to free her first and make sure she's safe before I confront them. Please," he begged her. "Let me handle this in my own way."

"Sounds like you still care about her a great deal," she responded.

"I do," he said simply

"Very well," she agreed. "Just make sure you don't let them get away with it!"

Harry assured her he had no intention of doing any such thing and then asked for what he really needed from her.

"Can you teach me how to diagnose and cure her?" he said desperately. "There's no way for me to get her here. In four days she's supposed to marry the git that probably did this to her and I've got to save her before it's too late."

"I'm afraid they're both rather complicated spells that take a long time to learn," she replied regretfully. "I have other patients and don't have the time to teach you, but if you'd let me call an auror, they can accompany you to where she is and do it for you."

He shook his head.

"I can't risk him doing something worse to her if he got wind of it," he responded. "Not that I'm certain he would but I never would have thought him capable doing what he's already done so I'm not putting anything past him. You said an auror can do it?"

"Yes," she said. "I believe its part of their advanced training."

"That explains why I haven't learned it yet then," he replied. "I won't start that for another month."

"You're in auror training?" she asked in surprise. "I'd have thought, after what you did, they'd make you a full auror immediately and be done with it."

"They offered but I wanted to earn my way to being an auror like everyone else," he answered her. "Plus there was a lot I didn't and apparently still don't know yet. If an auror can do it, I think I know someone who can help me."

As he left St Mungos, he had two trains of thought running through his mind; one was sifting through his new found memories trying to bring them into as clear a focus as he could, the other was running through possible scenarios to get back at the two youngest Weaselys for doing this to them in the first place. He let go of the second train as the first one got to the kiss. He remembered every detail yet it still seemed fuzzy if only there was a way to make it three-dimensional so he could walk into it. He thought of something he'd seen in an American television show that he'd watched with Hermione once at her parent's house. It was a science fiction show that had something called a holodeck that allowed someone to interact with three-dimensional, computer-generated images. He remembered telling her it was a lot like when he was in Dumbledore's pensieve. 'The pensieve,' he thought to himself. He could walk into his own memory and witness it first hand. The only question was if Professor McGonagall would let him use it.

He decide to take the chance and head to Hogwarts but he didn't want to take Hermione's package with him so he called Kreacher and ask him to take it to the burrow and tell them he would be busy for the afternoon but should be there in time for dinner. He made sure to order Kreacher not to tell anyone he was at St Mungos. Kreacher bowed to him then disappeared with the package.

Harry apparated to the gates of the school and walked to the castle from there. He was immediately allowed up to the headmistress's office and was greeted warmly by his former head of house.

"Harry," she said smiling. "It's good to see you. How have you been?"

"Not very well Professor," Harry responded.

"Harry," She chided. "I'm not your teacher anymore. But I hope you consider me a friend. Don't you think it's time we were on a first name basis?"

Harry smiled and nodded.

"Of course I consider you a friend," he replied. "I would be honored to call you Minerva but it may take a while to get used to it."

She smiled warmly again.

"Very well," she said. "What brings you to Hogwarts today?"

"I was hoping you might let me use the pensieve," Harry started. "I have some memories I need to review. Something happened to me during my sixth year that I just recently became aware of and I need to get a handle on it."

She nodded her head and immediately walked over to the cabinet behind the desk, opened it and put the pensieve on the desk.

"Take all the time you need," she said. "I've got a class to teach. I'll tell the gargoyle not to let anyone in and, if you're not done when I get back, worry not I can find something to occupy myself until you are."

"Thank you Minerva," He said gratefully.

"My pleasure Harry," she answered. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Actually yes," Harry replied. "Could you have someone contact Kingsley and ask if he can meet me here in a couple of hours?"

"Certainly," she responded. "I'll see to it personally."

With that she headed out the door leaving him alone in her office. He approached the pensieve and found it was empty. He took a minute to steal his nerves before placing his wand up to his temple. When he pulled the wand back, two long white hair-like strings came out of his temple with it. He used his wand to guide them to the pensieve then stirred them with his wand. When they were ready he stuck his face into the penseive and felt himself being pulled into it.

He quickly found himself standing in the Gryffindor common room staring at a slightly younger version of himself and Hermione sitting together on a couch near the fireplace. He knew where he'd come in. Ron had just gone to bed after only barely finishing the transfiguration homework they'd all been working on. Hermione had finished hers days ago and was now helping Harry with his. He was just finishing another rewrite after she'd given him some pointers. Harry walked up to the back of the couch and watched closely as scene unfolded.

"Done," his younger self said with satisfaction as he passed it to his best friend to look over."

Hermione giggled as she took it from him and began to read it.

"Let's see what we have here," she said with a smile.

She read for a few minutes before looking up and fixing him with a look of disappointment.

"Well Harry," she said sadly. "I never thought I would say this but..." his face dropped and she broke into a grin. "This is practically perfect."

He got the biggest smile on his face.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really Harry," she replied. "Keep this up and you won't need me anymore."

"I'll always need you Hermione," He responded. "Without you I'd never have gotten to the sorcerer's stone or into the chamber of secrets. I'd never have rescued Sirius or completed the first task of the Tri-wizard tournament. Without you I'd probably be dead several times over. I might get to the point that I can do my homework without you but I'll always want and need you in my life."

She gave him a warm smile as her eyes filled with tears before she flung herself at him and pulled him into a hug. The hug lasted longer than normal as neither one seemed to want to let go. From his vantage point behind the couch he heard her chuckle as he held her and saw her breath cause the hair on his neck move slightly while his face was almost completely covered by her hair and understood why he'd reacted the way he had the night he hugged her to congratulate her on her happy news. As they pulled back, their cheeks lightly grazed each other and it caused them to stop, their faces close and their eyes locked onto each other. They just stared at each other for a moment then Harry brought his hand up and caressed her face. Almost unconsciously he started pulling her head towards him and suddenly they were kissing. It was a soft and tender kiss as most first kisses are with both people slowly feeling their way through this new experience. There was no groping or hard snogging; they just held each other while experiencing a kiss that Harry had thought would be the first of many.

Movement across the room drew his attention away from the new couple. He looked up and saw Ron on the steps to the boy's dorm. He looked anything but happy as he turned and headed back up the stairs. The couple never noticed him there as they continued kissing. 'He knew', he thought to himself. 'He knew we'd kissed and still he gave us the potion' rage boiled in him as he realized that Ron did it because he knew. He did it to keep them from being together. He turned back to the couple and saw that they were now heading toward the stairs. They stopped, kissed one more time and went their separate ways. The scene changed to the main stairs. He was following himself and Hermione again. They were walking down the stairs holding hands.

"He's our best mate," Harry told her. "We owe it to him to tell him first and in private. He may well fancy you himself and if he's just with us he can vent all he wants without being embarrassed publicly because let's face it. It's Ron; I doubt he'll be able to control himself."

"You're right," she said smiling at him. "But if he thinks he can pout and make us break up, he's got another thing coming."

As they approached the main hall, they reluctantly let go of each other's hand. He remembered how cold and empty his hand felt at that moment. Once they entered the hall he moved ahead of the couple towards their table to see what he could find out. Ron was sitting there with a plate full of food (no surprise there) and positioning two glasses across from him as he saw them approach. They sat down and Ron greeted them in a friendly manner then asked if they finished their homework.

"Ron," Hermione chided. "You know very well I'd finished it days ago, however Harry did quite well last night."

There was a flash of anger on Ron's face but they were looking at each other and missed it. Harry noticed that they had taken hold of each other's hand under the table. Ginny walked in a few minutes later and sat beside Harry. She gave her brother a pointed look and he gave her a slight nod. Again the new couple missed it because they were focused on one another.

"I took the liberty of pouring you both a glass of pumpkin juice when I saw you coming," Ron said. "It's what you usually drink with breakfast."

"Thank you Ron," Hermione said sounding touched. "That was very thoughtful of you."

Harry remembered thinking it was odd but figured he was trying to make up for upsetting Hermione the night before over their homework and leaving Harry to calm her down. They both trusted him completely and would never think he would deliberately do anything to hurt either of them. He was their best friend after all. As much as he wanted to stop what he knew was coming he knew he could only watch. The couple filled their plates with food and started eating. Soon enough the moment he'd been dreading came as they both picked up the glasses of juice that Ron had prepared for them and took a drink.

The change was almost immediate; their hands came apart and they virtually started ignoring each other. Harry started giving Ginny all his attention while Hermione started treating Ron the way she'd just been treating Harry. There it was, he now had irrefutable proof that their best friend had betrayed them. The rage inside him boiled over and without thinking he threw a punch at Ron's head, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"You were our friend!" he screamed while still trying to attack him. "You knew how badly we wanted to be loved. I always felt no one could look past the boy who lived and love the real me while Hermione never thought she was pretty enough to have a guy really be interested in her! Then we both finally find what we were looking for with each other and you took it from us because you were jealous!? I hate you!"

Unhappy that punching him had no effect and still crazed from anger, he tried to jump on him. He fell through him and out of the pensieve and found himself quickly on the floor of the Headmistress' office. He felt horribly violated. This was far worse than anything Voldemort had tried to do to him and hurt him more deeply than ever before. He had an almost irresistible urge to kill his supposed best friend at that moment but before he could do that, he had to rescue his other victim first. Hermione needed him and that was more important than revenge. He took a few minutes to calm himself before returning the memories to his head. He put the pensieve back in the cabinet, left the office and headed down the stairs. When the gargoyle opened up, McGonagall was standing there with Kingsley Shacklebolt the current minister of magic.

"Hello Minerva, Kingsley, thanks for coming," he greeted them.

"Is everything ok Harry?" McGonagall asked concerned. "Did you find what you're looking for?"

"Unfortunately I did," Harry responded bitterly. "Thank you again for the use of the pensieve and your office, I'm finished with both now."

"Anytime Harry," she said smiling. "What are friends for?"

He smiled back but couldn't help thinking 'for stabbing you in the back at least, that is, if you're Ron Weasely.'

"Well, I have some school matters to attend to," She continued. "Unless you still need my assistance?"

Harry shook his head.

"I've bothered you enough Minerva," He responded finding it easier to use her first name every time he said it. "But I appreciate the offer."

"Anytime Harry," She said smiling then she disappeared behind the gargoyle as he turned to Kingsley.

"Thank you for coming Kingsley or should I call you Minister?" he said as they started walking.

"I prefer my friends to address me by my name rather than my title Harry," he responded. "I consider you a very good friend and I hope the feeling is mutual."

"It is," Harry replied smiling. "But I felt the choice should be yours. I need your help."

"So I've heard," he said. "What do you need?"

"I need to learn a diagnostic and healing spell in the next four days," Harry said quickly.

Kingsley gave him a look of shock but listened while Harry told him about the love potion that he and Hermione had been given and that she hadn't been cured yet.

"Let's go to the Burrow right now." He said. "I can perform the spells and arrest your sorry excuse of a best friend."

"I can't risk it," Harry responded. "If he senses I've figured it out he may try to hurt her or erase her memory. No, I've got to be the one to free her because I can walk in there without suspicion, find a way to get her alone to cure her and get her out of there. Then we can deal with Ron and his sister."

"Why do you always feel the need to take on the greatest danger yourself?" Kingsley asked. "Why can't you let someone else assume the risk for once?"

"Normally, I would say it was because I have what Hermione once called 'a saving people thing'," He answered his friend. "But, in this case, it's because she would do it for me, gladly laying down her life, if necessary, to save me. She's willingly risked it many times in the past, never leaving my side no matter how dangerous it got. She almost died a couple of times but she still stood by me, refusing to abandon me even when it seemed the rest of the world had. She's never let me down before and there's no way I'm letting her down now."

"Okay," Kingsley replied. "Do you want to head to the ministry and get started?"

Harry nodded and they headed to an empty faculty office and used the flu network to go straight to Kingsley's office. Once there he led Harry through a secret door to a room he'd never seen before.

"Okay," Kingsley said once the door was closed behind them. "Let's get started.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The diagnostic spell wasn't too difficult but the healing spell proved tougher to learn. It wasn't until the night before the wedding that he finally mastered it. By the time he got to the Burrow, Hermione had gone to her parent's house so Ron wouldn't see her before the wedding. He briefly thought of going there to try to cure her but changed his mind when he heard that Ginny had gone with her. It took all of his control not to slug Ron every time he saw him so he ate a quick meal and went straight to bed.

The next morning he hoped to get her alone but was thwarted at every turn. Instead he spent the morning fulfilling his duties as best man for a groom he now thoroughly loathed. After lunch he was sent outside to set up chairs and began to think he was going to miss his chance. Then he got his opportunity when Mrs. Weasely told him Hermione wanted to see him and asked him to please keep Ron out of the room because he kept trying to see her.

Harry immediately agreed to keep him away from her but refrained from telling her that if he had his way it would be a permanent separation. On the way into the house he ran into his ex- best mate. He was sitting on a couch in the sitting room and sulking.

"Harry," he said when he saw him. "They won't let me see her."

"Its bad luck Ron," Harry responded barely holding back his disgust. 'Especially when it comes to you' he thought to himself. "I've been sent to guard her so don't try anything."

"Fine," he said. "Could you do me a favor? Could you take her this drink? I figured she might be thirsty, I wasn't going to look, I was just going to hand it to her through the door. I got one for myself but I haven't touched it so you can have it since apparently you're going to be stuck up there too."

"Thanks," Harry answered taking both glasses. "I'll take it to her."

Ron smiled appreciatively as Harry walked away letting him have his moment of thinking he'd got over on his best friends once again. He headed up the stairs and as soon as he was out of sight, balanced both glasses on one hand and pulled his wand out with the other. He cast a detection charm that Kingsley had taught him along with the others and sure enough there was some of the potion in both glasses. Apparently he realized how long it had been since he'd 'medicated' him and was trying to rectify it. He briefly wondered if it was the same for Hermione as well. It would explain why they'd been arguing more lately. Apart from the stress of planning a wedding, if the real Hermione was starting to fight her way through the potion, it would explain why Ron was so anxious to get her back under control lest someone discover what he'd done. 'Too late Ron,' he thought to himself 'I know and soon so will everyone else'. Harry sealed the glasses like he'd learned in his auror training, put them in the inner pockets of his dress robes and continued to Hermione's room. He knocked on the door only to hear her shout.

"Go away Ron!" she shouted. "I'm not opening the door!"

"It's Harry," he said and soon the door was open and a body was hurtling itself on him.

"Harry!" she said in his ear. "Thank you for getting the guest gifts for me you have no idea how much it meant to me, oh and I forgive you for making Kreacher deliver them."

"I wanted make sure you got them," Harry responded as she led him into her room. "I couldn't bring them myself so Kreacher was the only option I had."

Her mother and Ginny were still in the room so Harry engaged in pleasant conversation while trying to will them to leave him alone with her. Thankfully Mrs. Weasely needed Ginny's help in the kitchen so she left then Mr. Granger came and got her mother because there was something outside he wanted to show her. As soon as he was alone with her he put locking and silencing charms on both the door and the window. Then he turned to look at her as thoughts of that kiss came back to him. He vividly now remembered the taste of her lips, the feel of her hands on his back and how his fingers felt tangled up in her silky hair.

He pulled his wand out, cast the diagnostic spell and confirmed she was under the influence of the potion. He walked up behind her and lightly touched her hair. It was still as silky as he remembered.

"Hermione?" He called to her.

"Yeah Harry," she responded.

"Do you remember when we kissed in sixth year?" He asked her.

She gave him a puzzled look.

"Don't be silly Harry," she responded. "We never kissed in sixth year. You were dating Ginny and I fancied Ron. Not that he caught on right away, he always was rather thick headed you know. Obviously he figured it out eventually though, otherwise there wouldn't be a wedding happening today."

"It was before I got together with Ginny and you decided you fancied Ron," Harry said softly. "Do you remember sixth year before we fell in love with the two youngest Weaselys?"

"Not really except for us arguing a lot over your potions book, Ron's ill thought out affair with Lavender Brown" she answered a flash of jealousy on her face. "And you pining over Ginny."

He turned her to face him and looked her in the eyes. They were the most mesmerizing eyes he'd ever seen.

"I never pined for Ginny because she wasn't the girl I really fancied," he said. He put his finger up to her lips when she started to argue and then he continued. "The kiss we shared was the single greatest moment in my life but like you for longest time I forgot about it. I've recently remembered it and figured out how we forgot it and ended up dating Weaselys."

"How," She asked nervously.

"We were both given a love potion that stole our hearts and our memories of each other," he said quickly

"But, who would do such a thing?" She asked stunned

"I'll explain everything in a minute but first I'd like show you our kiss," he responded. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do Harry," she answered.

Harry stood up and pointed his wand at her and cast the healing incantation. She started to glow briefly but it faded after a few seconds. She didn't speak right away as her brow furrowed while she went through the process, like he did, of reorganizing her mind to compensate for all the new memories she'd just gotten back. When she was finished she looked up at him.

"Harry..," she started but bit her bottom lip as she suddenly became emotional.

"We were given the potion the next morning during Breakfast," he told her barely containing his own emotion as she buried her face in her hands. "By someone we trusted. There's a lot I need to tell but, before I do, there's something I've got know."

"What?" she asked him meeting his eyes again.

"Have I waited too long ask you for a second kiss?" He asked feeling his eyes water

She stood up, slowly shook her head and walked over to him her own eyes brimming with tears.

"The important thing is you remembered to ask," she answered him before pulling him into a kiss.

They kissed for a few minutes and then they just held each other.

"How Harry?" she asked while crying into his shoulder. "How could someone do this to us? Who could be so cruel!?"

He started to speak but couldn't find the words to tell her the rest just yet. He just wanted to hold her for a little while longer but she didn't want to wait. She pulled back far enough to look him in the eyes.

"Who-," She started to ask again but suddenly seemed to figure it out on her own. "Ginny? Why would she do that to her friends?"

"My guess is she fancied me," he answered her while stroking her hair. She closed her eyes in response to his touch. "And wasn't willing to take no for an answer."

"I knew she liked you," she responded. "But I wouldn't have believed she would ever stoop to something so despicable."

"She didn't act alone," he added.

"Who helped her? Mrs. Weasely?" She asked.

"No, I don't think so" he answered. "I think she just inadvertently gave them the idea. Apparently she slipped a love potion to Mr. Weasely when they were younger."

She looked shocked at that revelation.

"What!?" She said incredulously. "Is this some sick family tradition passed from mother to daughter?"

He nodded.

"And apparently from mother to son," He replied.

Her eyes went wide then filled with rage.

"Ron helped do this to us?" She asked with a slight catch in her voice.

"After he saw us kissing," he answered her. "Professor McGonagall let me use the pensieve and I went inside my memory of that night and the next morning to see if I could pinpoint when we'd been poisoned. Apparently Ron came back down to the common room right as we were sharing our first kiss. From the look on his face, he wasn't happy about what he saw and decided to do something about it."

"He saw us kissing and he still helped Ginny set us up?" she responded.

"I believe it was because of it," he replied. "I overheard Ginny telling her mum that Ron caught her with the potion and refused to help but the next morning he'd changed his mind and told her he'd give it to me at breakfast. I guess he decided to take you for himself while he was at it."

She was momentarily sad then became even more enraged. She pulled away and started pacing in fury until she finally exploded.

"I'll break his bloody neck!" she shouted at last. "No wait; I'm a witch that would be too quick. Let's see, which hex should I use."

Her expression turned thoughtful as she mentally ran through a list of the hexes she knew. She took quite awhile and he made a note to himself to never get on her bad side. She finally threw her hands up.

"Sod it!" she exclaimed at last. "I'll just use them all on that prat!"

She suddenly covered her mouth as she came down from her rage enough to realize where she was.

"Oh no," she said softly. "Do you think they heard that?"

He shook his head smiling.

"I put a silencing charm on both the door and window," he answered her.

She smiled at his cleverness and moved back into his arms.

"So what do you want to do about them?" she asked.

"Well, last time we kissed," He responded. "We decided to be considerate of Ron's feelings because we didn't know what a backstabbing git he was. This time I say we take the opposite approach and cause him all pain and embarrassment we can."

She smiled and gave him another kiss.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

He returned her smile and told her his plan.

A few hours later, he was standing next to Ron at the alter. The bridesmaids were making their way down the aisle and soon Hermione and her father would make their long expected appearance. Ron appeared extremely nervous. Harry leaned in close in an effort to help him relax.

"I wanted to thank you for the drinks you gave me for Hermione and myself," He whispered to him. "I had no idea how long we'd be stuck in that room. At least we weren't thirsty."

"You both drank them then?" he asked.

"Every drop," Harry answered.

"Good," he replied. "I was worried about her. She's been pushing herself so hard planning this wedding that I was afraid she wasn't taking proper care of herself. I mean she hasn't really been herself lately you know? Look at how she overreacted about those stupid trinkets. Hermione would never talk to me that way normally especially over something ridiculous like that. I'll be glad when this wedding is over so things can get back to normal."

"Me too," Harry agreed. 'Just not the way you want them to be' he thought to himself.

He was surprised at how little Ron really knew her. That's exactly how she would talk to him if she hadn't been drugged up on a love potion. He never understood why she cared about things he considered silly. Elf rights, Homework, and Hogwarts: a History, but what he totally missed was that when he showed total disregard for what she cared about, in her mind, he was showing total disregard for her in general. After all the help she gave him with his homework and always trying to be a good friend to him, his behavior hurt her deeply. It was obvious to Harry now that he only cared about the things that directly affected him.

Finally the wedding march started and Hermione appeared on her father's arm. They'd told her parents what was going on so they knew that none of this was real. Hermione was a vision of pure beauty in her wedding dress. It caused him to ponder the possibility that she may one day walk down the aisle to him. She flashed him a quick smile as she took Ron's hand and moved to stand in front of the minister.

The ceremony progressed until the vows. The minister took Ron through them first. When he said 'I do', the minister turned to Hermione he took her through the same vows then paused for her answer. She didn't answer right away but stood there silently for a moment. Then she turned toward Ron and slugged him.

"I don't and I never will you conniving little toad!" she screamed at him to the shock of all the guests. "How dare you help Ginny give me and Harry a love potion! We were your friends Ron! How could you betray us like that? Was it really that hard see us kiss? Was it that impossible for you to be happy for us? Well, we're both free now Ron! You and Ginny don't control us anymore! I don't Love you Ron! I never loved you!" She pointed at Harry. "He's who I choose to be with because he'd let me choose for myself even if that meant seeing me with someone else because he'd rather see me happy than forced to live a lie!"

Ron was looking up at her in shock. His face turned beet red at the mention of the potion. Ginny looked shocked and ashamed as she looked down at her brother. Hermione immediately went into Harry's arms and gave him a kiss. He kissed her back then picked up from where she left off.

"A few months ago, at the engagement party, I had a sudden recollection of a memory of us kissing during sixth year that I'd somehow forgotten. While I was trying to figure out how I could forget such an important memory, I overheard Ginny and her mother talking about giving then men in their lives a love potion." There was a shocked hiss from the crowd at that revelation but he ignored it and continued. "I promptly went to St Mungos and found I had been given a love potion and was cured. Fearing for Hermione's safety I decided to learn the proper diagnostic and healing spells myself rather than let the aurors raid the place like they had offered to do. As soon as I was able, I cured her myself. Accordingly, this wedding, her relationship with Ron and mine with Ginny are officially cancelled. You have our apologies for any inconvenience."

Ginny stepped up to him with pleading eyes.

"Harry, I didn't-," she started but he didn't let her finish.

"I don't want to hear it!" he snapped at her. "You can't force someone to love you with a potion! It's just wrong!"

A quick movement to his right caused him to turn towards Ron with his wand out while Hermione pointed hers at Ginny.

"Stealing her from me a second time are you?" Ron said enraged as he raised his wand.

"Expelliamus," Harry screamed disarming him and knocking him back down. "I didn't steal her from you; I just got there first while you played your idiotic games. You stole her from me with the potion and I just took her back but at least I did it honestly. I won her heart. You resorted to stealing her heart and mine along with it and gave it to your sister. I pity you Ron for being so selfish and self absorbed that you can't truly give your heart to anyone because you're only capable of loving yourself."

By that time Kingsley and the aurors he'd brought with him had made it to the front and they immediately bound him and carried him into the house while others guarded Ginny who hadn't moved a muscle.

He handed the two sealed glasses of pumpkin juice to him.

"Here," he told his friend. "He tried to give us a new dose earlier today."

"I'll have them officially tested and placed into evidence. How do you want to handle it," He asked the couple.

"What do you think?" Harry asked her.

"I don't know," she answered. "I just want to get away from him right now. Can we take a few days to think about it?"

"Certainly," Kingsley replied. "I'll put Ron under house arrest and put guards outside the burrow and wherever you'll be staying. Do you know where you're going?"

Harry looked at her again.

"Do you want to go to your parent's house?" he asked her.

"I want to stay with you, we've been apart long enough." She answered him.

He smiled at her and turned back to Kingsley.

"I guess we'll go to Grimmauld place," he told him.

"What do you want us to do with her?" he asked indicating Ginny.

He turned toward her and she held her hands up and shook her head.

"You two need to do whatever it takes to feel safe," she said meekly. "I'll accept whatever actions you deem appropriate but I swear you have nothing to fear from me."

He'd expected Ginny to be as indignant as her brother or try to play on his sympathy. She was doing neither and he was almost curious enough to ask her about it but, at that moment, he just wanted to give Hermione her wish and get her out of there.

"Just keep her away from us until we make our decision," he answered Kingsley.

With that he started leading Hermione and her parents away from the burrow. As they passed through the crowd, the rest of the Weasely clan approached them. Mr. And Mrs. Weasely along with George, Bill, Fleur, Charlie and Percy all looked embarrassed at what the Youngest Weaselys had done.

"Harry, Hermione," Mr. Weasely started apparently speaking for all of them. "We want you to know that we are embarrassed at what our children have done to you. It was reprehensible and they deserve whatever punishment you see fit to give them. I hope you know that Molly and I love both of you like you were our own children and none of this has changed that. In other words, we hope you won't cut us out of your lives because of them. We wouldn't blame you if you did however, but we hope you won't."

Harry nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

"The only ones we hold responsible are Ron and Ginny," he responded. "Once this mess is sorted out and with a little time, things will hopefully get back to normal. You are all near and dear to our hearts and we'd never want to lose you either."

They quickly exchanged hugs and handshakes with Mr. and Mrs. Weasely then moved through the rest of the clan. Harry Shook hands with Percy, Charlie and Bill before hugging Fleur. Then he felt hand on his shoulder and turned to see George smiling at him.

"I'm sorry my little brother decided to dethrone Percy as the biggest git in the family at your expense Harry," George said. "Although Ginny might be giving him a run for his money."

"Maybe," Harry responded. "We'll get it all sorted out in a couple days then we'll know for sure."

Hermione returned to his side and they made their final goodbyes. As they started to walk away from the Weaselys, Her mother's face turned white as an extremely large shadow fell on them. Before they could react, two large furry arms wrapped around both of them as they heard the very familiar sound of someone weeping.

"Oh Harry!" Hagrid said thru sobs. "I'm so sorry I didn't cotton ter what happened ter ya and poor lil' Hermione here. I shoulda, I shoulda noticed you were a little off but I guess I was too wrapped up in being a high and mighty professor that I failed to see that my friends were in trouble! I'll never forgive m'self I tell ya and I don't expect you to forgive me neither! Keep a respectful distance from the students they told me but I didn't realize it would cause me to let two of my best friends down. Well if that's what it take to do this job, than I don't want it! I'll just go back to being the groundskeeper. At least then I was there for ya!"

They spent the next several minutes calming down their friend once they got loose from his bear hug. Hermione hugged him with everything she had while Harry patted his shoulder.

"You'll do no such thing Hagrid!" she told him firmly. "You're a great teacher and Hogwarts needs you. None of this is your fault. It's not like they advertised what they did. You have never let us down before and I won't let you think you did this time either."

"They didn't use ammortitia on us Hagrid," Harry added. "This potion was more subtle and didn't really cause us to act any differently except that we were showing affection to someone else rather than to each other."

"Hagrid," another voice called out and Harry turned to see Professor McGonagall standing behind him. He hadn't even realized she was there because he'd been so preoccupied with comforting his friend. "I need you at Hogwarts and not just as a groundskeeper. You're a great teacher. You're as good if not better with the students as you are with all the creatures you care for. The number of students signing up to take you're class is increasing every year, in fact, I would say you're well on your way to becoming the most popular teacher at the school. I don't know what I'll tell all those kids who've been recently informed that they'll get to have a class with you learning about all those amazing creatures you love so much. Please don't make me have to disappoint them Hagrid? That's not a part of my job that I relish having to do."

Hagrid finally calmed down and wiped his hand across his face then looked up at the Headmistress.

"Well," he said finally. "I wouldn't want to disappoint the kids or make yer job harder professor but I ain't keeping a respectful distance from my friends just because they happen to be students anymore. If you can accept that, than I guess I'll stay."

"I wouldn't want it any other way Hagrid," She responded smiling. "We should always stay close to our friends. Come on, let's go home."

With that she led Hagrid away after they said goodbye to their two young friends. Harry turned away from his former professors to see Hermione now calming down her parents and telling them about Hagrid. A soon as she had them calmed down they continued walking until they got to the apparating point then disappeared. They arrived moments later at her parent's house. Hermione had taken her mom while Harry had taken her dad. They talked for a few minutes before saying goodnight then they apparated to the front porch of 12 Grimmauld Pl.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They walked in the front door and Harry started to say something but before he could she flung herself into his arms and started crying. He didn't say anything, he just held her while she wept. He realized that while she'd gotten angry she hadn't yet allowed herself to break down. Probably because she didn't feel safe at the burrow and didn't want to further alarm her parents but now that they were alone and safe she couldn't hold it in anymore. He could imagine what she was feeling because he was feeling it to. The sheer horror of realizing that two years their lives had not been their own. Fear of what could have happened had they not broken free; a life spent trapped behind a haze of false memories and feelings being married and possibly having children with someone you didn't love while the one you did love was suffering the same fate and being powerless to do anything about it. Anger at being taken advantage of and used but mostly sadness at finding out it was the person you trusted and cared about most in the world that had done it to you.

He comforted her silently until she started to calm down.

"I'm so sorry," He said into her hair.

"For what?" she asked softly.

"For not being able to control myself," he responded. "That night in the common room. If I had, I wouldn't have kissed you and he-"

She pushed back from him her eyes flaring in anger.

"Are you telling me you wish we'd never kissed!?" she asked her voice rising a hurt expression on her face.

"Of course not!" He answered quickly. "I told you what it meant to me. I'm just referring to the timing of it that's all. If I'd finished my paper sooner or been able to get over my fear quicker and kiss you earlier or if I'd waited a few more minutes until he went back up to bed, he'd never have seen us and you wouldn't have suffered because of me."

"You listen you me Harry Potter!" She said using one finger to poke him in the chest while she talked. "We've just spent the last few hours convincing people we love not to blame themselves for what happened because it's not their fault and I'm not going to let you blame yourself either. Ron and Ginny are to blame and no one else. We weren't cheating on them. We were free to do what we wanted because they were too cowardly to take a chance and let us know they fancied us. We gave them plenty of opportunities and they squandered them. We were under no obligation to wait for them forever and at no time do I recall either of us giving any indication that we were." She stopped poking him and reached up to caress his face before continuing in a more gentle voice.

"That night was the best night of my life too Harry. It was the first time I went to bed truly happy and not feeling like I was missing out on something everyone around me seemed to have in abundance. Every girl in the dorm seemed to have a boyfriend to tell stories about except me and I was looking forward to having my own stories to tell. I wasn't altogether certain if I was going to tell them to the other girls or keep them for myself, but I'd have them and with the most sought after boy in school too. As for Ron, he probably would have done it no matter when he found out so, at best, you probably would have only delayed it a couple days at the most. As a result, it might have taken a few more days to break free and I'd be Mrs. Ronald Weasely right now with him doing things to me I'd rather not think about."

"Me neither," Harry replied making a disgusted face then turned serious. "I guess you're right it's just, when I think of him having control of both of us and what he could have done to you with me powerless to stop it, I can't help thinking that there was something I should have been able to do. For over two years, you were victimized and I failed to save you from it. You needed my help and I failed you."

He stopped speaking as his own emotions overwhelmed him and his own tears started flowing. Hermione pulled him into her arms and spoke softly into his ear as she comforted him.

"You were victimized too Harry," She soothed. "You had to free yourself before you could help me. You got to me as soon as you could. You didn't fail me Harry because I'm here with you and we're free."

After they'd calmed down from the flood of emotion they'd released, they made their way to the sitting room and sat silently in each other's arms and began the process of recovering from their ordeal in the comfort of each other's touch. They stayed there until it was very late then decided to head to bed. As they got up Harry realized she was still in her wedding dress.

"You were stunning in that dress today." Harry said simply. "Too bad you put it on for nothing."

"It beats the alternative," she replied smiling. "Besides, the way you were looking at me made it all worth it. No one's ever made me feel as beautiful as you did today."

She kissed him then took hold of his hand as they walked out of the sitting room. They got to the foot of the stairs when something occurred to him.

"Most of your clothes are still at the burrow aren't they?" He asked her.

"Yeah," she answered. "But I can find something to make do with tonight and go from there in the morning."

"I'll get them for you now," he said shaking his head. "You've made do enough recently; I'm not letting you do it anymore."

"Harry," she pleaded. "I don't want to be left here alone and I can't bear the thought of walking back into that house tonight."

He reached up and caressed her face soothingly.

"I'm not going anywhere," he assured her. "Kreacher!" he called out to thin air.

Kreacher appeared a second later and bowed before him.

"What can Kreacher do for you master," he asked.

"If you don't mind Kreacher, I'd like it if you would do me a favor," Harry responded. "This is not an order mind you but simply a request so you don't have to do it if you don't want to and I promise I won't be upset with you. Hermione is staying over but she doesn't have any clothes here. They're all at the burrow. I would be grateful if you would go get them and put them upstairs in the room across from mine. If you were busy or were sleeping or don't feel up to it, that's okay. We can make do for tonight and make arrangements to have them sent over tomorrow. It's up to you."

"Master is too kind to Kreacher," He answered bowing again. "Kreacher is here to serve. Kreacher will be happy to do this for you."

With that he disappeared and Harry turned back to Hermione to find her giving him a stern look.

"What?" He asked. "I asked him to do me a favor, I didn't order him. I gave him the choice to do it or not."

Her expression softened into a smile.

"You handled it quite well," she agreed. "But as late as it is, he may have been sleeping. You shouldn't have disturbed him. I would have been fine waiting until the morning."

"You've waited long enough," He said pulling her close. "It's time you started getting everything you've been waiting for."

"I already have," she replied. "I've got you."

By the time they got to their rooms Hermione's things were already there. Harry kissed her goodnight and watched her enter her room and close the door then headed across the hall to his own room and went to bed. He lay in bed with the day's events repeating themselves in his head and found he couldn't sleep. He was still awake almost an hour later when he heard a soft knock at the door.

"Harry?" Hermione's muffled voice called from outside the door. "Are you awake?"

"Yeah," he called out while sitting up. "Come on in."

She opened the door and light from the hallway flooded into the room causing him to squint momentarily while his eyes adjusted. When he was able to look at her, he notice that she was no longer wearing the wedding dress but now stood there in a robe that most likely covered her bed clothes. The light turned the front of her into a darkened silhouette so he wasn't able to see her face.

"Is something wrong," he asked concerned.

She didn't answer right away. She closed the door submerging the room in darkness again then crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached out and started caressing her upper arm and almost immediately she flung herself into his arms and started crying.

"What is it? What's wrong?" he said worriedly as he wrapped his arms around her, one hand gently stroking the back of her head and getting tangled in her hair until she calmed down.

"I-it's nothing," she answered with her face buried in his chest. "I feel better now. I shouldn't have bothered you."

She continued to cling to him showing no signs of wanting to move.

"You're never a bother Hermione," he replied. "Now tell me why you were upset."

"I just had a bad dream," she said finally. She'd turned her head sideways and was now rested it against his chest like it was a pillow. "It freaked me out a little and I overreacted that's all."

"So tell me about it." He said now gently caressing the side of her face with his fingers.

"It's silly Harry," she responded. "Really it is. You need your rest, honestly I'm fine."

She still did not move.

"But you're already here," he protested. "And I'm wide awake. Silly or not, it upset you. I think it might help if you talked about it."

"Okay," she said finally. "Well, I'd just gotten into bed and closed my eyes when the door opened. I turned expecting to see you but instead it was Ron. He had a crazy look in his eyes. I didn't know if he'd cast a spell on me or if I was merely petrified with fear but suddenly I couldn't move. He started laughing then he spoke. 'Did you really think you could get away from me? You were never free, you will never be free'. Then he came over to the bed and touched my face. I tried to pull away but I still couldn't move. Then he spoke again. 'You belong to me Hermione and you always will. So does Harry. I think I'll move in here, into the master suite of course, so I can keep a closer watch over both of you. You know you left before we consummated our marriage. I know you were looking forward to it but I think I'll make you wait for it a little longer to let your anticipation build as punishment for leaving me at the altar. At least you didn't sully yourself with him; I'll credit you with that much. At least you knew to stay pure for me.'

Then he got up and headed to the door before turning back towards me and saying. 'Harry won't be able to save you this time. I'm afraid this time I've permanently destroyed any feelings he ever had for you and most of his memories. He's still across the hall but he probably won't recognize you if he even let's you in. Even if he does, he'll never let you near him again. In time, you'll both be little more than my slaves like those little house elves you're so fond of and you'll be just as eager to please me. I'd say don't go anywhere but we both know you can't. I'll be back soon.' With that he left and closed the door. I closed my eyes and tried to will myself to move and the next thing I knew I was sitting up in bed, the room empty and the door closed. I think part of me knew it had only been a dream but I couldn't shake the fear that it was real and that he'd just left the room. Only way I knew I could find out for sure was to come see you. I carefully opened my bedroom door and peeked into the hallway. I saw it was empty and practically ran to your door. When you let me in and seemed to recognize me I was pretty confident it had just been a dream but I had to be sure so I moved to the bed to see if you would pull away. When you reached for me I broke down in relief. The thing that scared me the most wasn't what Ron said he was going to do to me but the thought of you pulling away from me and never touching me again. I don't think I could've lived without it."

She started crying again and buried her face in his chest once more. He comforted her again trying to send her all the assurance he could through his touch.

"You're never going to have to find out," he told her soothingly. "I'm not going anywhere. That didn't sound silly to me, in fact, it sounded downright terrifying but it's probably to be expected. You've had quite a day. You may not want to hear this but you should try to go back to sleep. I know that's probably not a happy thought for you right now. Believe me, I know. I had a nightmare the first night I was free too."

"What was yours about?" She asked, the side of her head was once again lying against his chest.

"I was at the burrow I think," He started. "I was on my knees at Ginny's feet, a collar around my neck with a chain attached to it. The other end of the chain was in her hand. The other Weaselys were there except you and Ron. Ginny made me do dog tricks for them; Heal, sit up and beg, roll over, that sort of thing. They all applauded at how well she had me trained. Then Ron brought you in and tried to make you do the same tricks but you either did them wrong or were doing the wrong ones so he started beating you every time you made a mistake. Finally he stopped trying to make you do tricks and just beat you continuously." He felt his eyes water as he continued. "You were screaming out in pain and begging me to help you and I tried, really I did, but every time I tried to get to you, Ginny would order me to stay by her and suddenly I couldn't move. The worst part was the look in your eyes when you realized I wasn't going to help you. I saw the betrayal in your eyes and knew that I'd failed you. Ron hit you again and you screamed my name then I woke up screaming yours. I'd had nightmares before but that was by far the worst one I'd ever had. Your expression when I let you down haunted me and made me work harder to free you."

"Harry," she said reaching up to caress his face. "That's one expression you'll never see from me because, if there's one thing I'm sure of, you'd die trying before ever letting me down."

"That's always been my intention," he responded. "But I never counted on my head and heart being controlled by one of my best friends. It scares me to think about what he could have or might have done to you these last two years. I mean, did you and he ever.."

He trailed off as he lost the nerve to complete the question.

"Would it make a difference to you if we had?" she asked cautiously.

"Only that there would be another crime to add to his list," he answered her. "Not to mention I'd have a strong desire to castrate the bastard for taking advantage of you. It wouldn't change how I felt about you if that's what you're asking."

"No," she replied sounding relieved. "We snogged some obviously but that's as far as we went. How about you and Ginny?"

"The same," Harry answered. "Despite the potion making me think I was in love with her, I never wanted to go beyond snogging but she never tried to get me to either nor did she accuse me of not finding her attractive. She seemed happy just to be with me. Did Ron ever try to push you into going further?"

"Yeah," she responded. "But he never tried to force me. I guess he figured he owned me so he could be patient."

Silence fell between them for a few moments until she broke it.

"Harry?" She asked.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" She asked.

"Well..I..Er," Harry started at a loss for words.

"Just sleeping Harry," she said chuckling lightly. "I wasn't referring to what we were talking about."

"Good," he responded. "I'm glad."

"Oh, okay," she said softly and he could hear the hurt in her voice.

"No, it's not like that," he said quickly. "Believe me, I'm definitely interested in you that way especially with you here in my bed with me but I don't think we're ready to take that step yet. If and when we do take that step, I think it should be at the right time and for the right reasons and tonight isn't it. We're just starting to recover from an ordeal and I don't think our heads are completely clear right now. Probably won't be for some time. The last two years weren't real for us. It was our bodies but we were trapped inside while someone else's version of us made all the choices romantically and had all the experiences. That wasn't us snogging Ron and Ginny but the things possessing us. For me, last night wasn't the night before the wedding, but that night in the common room in sixth year when we shared our first kiss. It took over two years but we've finally woken up and realized that it was real and not a dream and kissed again. Nothing in between is real to me at least in regards to that part of my life. As far as I'm concerned, you're the only girl I've ever really kissed."

"What about Cho?" She asked. "You kissed her in fifth year."

"It wasn't the same," he replied. "The kiss was ok but there was no magic in it. We didn't really know each other. It turns out we really didn't have much in common either. I'm not even sure if she really liked me or if it was 'the boy who lived' that she fancied. She was jealous of you and I know why. I didn't realize it then but you were always number one in my heart and everyone could see it but me until you almost died in the department of mysteries. That was the moment I realized how I felt about you. Unfortunately, it was awhile before I summoned the courage to make a move. Some Gryffindor I am huh? Nothing felt more right than that kiss. I couldn't believe I'd waited so long, been so blind. It was much more than the feel of your lips against mine or you in my arms. I knew who you were kissing and who you fancied. There was no doubt that it was me Harry on both counts because I was never 'the boy who lived' to you. I was just your friend Harry that you'd come to think of as more than a friend. Maybe I have it backwards. Maybe you're not the only girl I've kissed but you're the only girl that's ever really kissed me. Cho kissed the legend and Ginny kissed a potion. My point is, that neither of us had much experience. We both had, at most, one kiss until we kissed each other. Neither one of us knew much about love but were about to start learning about it together. I want to pick up where we left off and continue learning about it with you step by step from the first kiss and first date to eventually the other form of sleeping together and perhaps marriage and every step in between. There's no hurry, we have our whole lives. I believe each step will be a marvelous new discovery because we'll discover them together and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. As for tonight, you're welcome to stay here with me."

She reached around to the back of his head and pulled him down and kissed him.

"Thank you Harry," she said. "It's just that I don't want to be alone if I have another nightmare. I want to wake up, find you next to me and know I'm safe."

"Now that," he replied tightening his arms around her. "Would be my pleasure. I would love to have the most beautiful girl in the world share my bed tonight."

"Oh," she responded softly sitting up. "Are you expecting her to arrive soon?"

"No," he answered pulling her back to him. "You're already here."

He captured her lips with his own letting a little passion flow into his kiss which she returned. After a few minutes, she reluctantly pulled away from him long enough to stand up and discard her robe. While she did that, Harry laid back down, situated the pillows and pulled back the covers invitingly for her. She got into bed and immediately back into his arms. They kissed good night and then, still clinging to each other, finally fell asleep.

They spent the next couple of days at Grimmauld place. They only moved about the house and virtually never left each other's side. They talked, held each other and by the second day had even snogged a bit. It was as if they were trying to make up for all the time they'd lost in those few days. By the second evening they finally started feeling normal but were still using a detection spell each time Kreacher brought them something to eat or drink. It wasn't that they didn't trust him but they weren't willing to risk eating or drinking anything untested no matter who prepared it. They'd trusted Ron and he'd stolen them from each other for two years. They weren't going to make that mistake again. Once they'd made sure the food was okay, they finally began discussing what to do about the two youngest Weaselys. Half an hour into it, they'd just started to formulate suitable punishment when there was a knock at the door. Harry pulled out his wand and made his way to the door.

"Who is it?" he asked without opening the door.

"It's Kingsley Harry," a muffled voice answered through the door.

Harry cracked the door open keeping his wand ready. When he saw Kingsley, he opened it the rest of the way and invited him inside.

"Sorry," he said shaking the older man's hand. "Feeling overly cautious I guess."

"It's understandable with what you've been through," Kingsley responded before glancing past him. "Good evening Hermione, watching Harry's back as usual I see?"

Harry turned to look at her. He hadn't known she'd followed him but wasn't surprised. She was standing a few feet away, still had her wand out and was pointing it at their visitor a serious expression on her face as she nodded.

"And I always will," she said then smiled as she lowered her wand. "It's good to see you Kingsley."

"Moody would call you a fool for lowering your wand so quickly," He responded smiling. "I could be an enemy that used polyjuice potion to look like me. Constant vigilance, I believe, is what he called it."

"While you were greeting Harry," She replied calmly. "I cast a detection spell to check for polyjuice and had determined it was really you before you saw me. Otherwise I would've hexed you into next week before you knew what hit you."

"I take that back," he said laughing. "He would have considered you his prize pupil with that kind of quick thinking. You really are the brightest witch of your generation."

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"So what can we do for you this evening?" Harry asked.

He had moved to her side while they were talking, taken her hand in his and turned to look at their visitor.

"I came to check on you," he answered. "And see if you've made a decision yet."

"We were just discussing that over dinner," Harry responded. "Would you care to join us? If you haven't eaten already that is."

"I haven't," Kingsley answered. "I planned on going to the leaky cauldron later but I would be honored to join you."

They headed back to the dining room. Harry had Kreacher bring another plate and then they resumed eating dinner. At first, they stuck to light topics like the latest happenings at the ministry before working their way to the purpose of this visit.

"So how are you two holding up?" Kingsley asked as Kreacher cleared away the dinner dishes.

"It's been a rough couple of days," Harry answered him. "But we're starting to feel normal again."

"Having time alone together," Hermione added. "Has helped us to start to heal. Thank you for keeping everyone away and giving us that time."

"The wizarding world owes you two much more than it can ever repay," he responded. "Peace and quiet is the least we can do. You both should take all the time you need. Your jobs at the ministry will be waiting for you whenever you're ready."

"Thanks," they both said together.

"Now," Kingsley said carefully. "About the two Weasely children-."

"Well, as I said earlier," Harry interrupted. "We had just started talking about it before you arrived. We don't have a decision for you yet but I don't think it will be much longer perhaps another day or two. We want to do the right thing and not just react out of anger or hurt feelings. Plus we wanted to talk to you before making a final decision to see what you've found out from them. Have they told you anything yet?"

"Ron hasn't," Kingsley answered. "He's refused to talk so I've asked Professor Slughorn for some veritaserum to use on him. I should have it tomorrow and then we can get some answers. Ginny, on the other hand had a very interesting story to tell."

"Ginny has always been good at making people believe she was innocent or duped." Harry replied skeptically. "How do you know she's telling the truth?"

"I don't," He responded. "That's why I asked Slughorn for the potion, so I can verify her story."

"So what did she tell you?" Hermione asked in a suspicious tone.

"Well, that brings me to another matter I need to discuss with you." Kingsley answered. "Molly would like to bring Ginny here to tell you herself. She thinks you'll understand it better if you hear it from them. They're willing to adhere to any security measures you deem necessary including having other people in the room. It's up to you but I'm going to use the potion on Ron tomorrow so either way we'll have answers for you."

Harry looked at Hermione. She was looking back at him with uncertainty. He reached out and squeezed her hand.

"We don't have to do it," he told her soothingly. "We don't owe them anything."

Then something clicked into place in his mind that he hadn't realized before now and caused him to feel anger towards the woman he once thought of like a mother. He turned back to Kingsley and gave him a hard look.

"She knew!" Harry said his voice rising. "She knew they'd given us the potion! She even sounded proud in the conversation I overheard her having with Ginny! I thought she just gave them the idea but she knew and didn't do anything to free us!"

He turned back to see Hermione looking even more frightened than before and tried to comfort her before returning his gaze to their visitor. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and turned back to see sadness had replaced the fear.

"She's always said we were like her own children Harry," Hermione said her lip trembling. "How could she-"

She couldn't finish as she broke down. Harry pulled her into his arms and held her while she cried.

"You tell them," He said angrily. "That it will be a happy day in Azkaban before we ever want to listen to anything they have to say again."

"Molly thought you'd figure it out sooner or later," Kingsley replied. "She knew the conversation you overheard and knew it was only a matter of time. She figured it was the shock that kept you from putting it together sooner. It's understandable that you feel this way but if what they said is true, it wasn't what it looked like. It's your choice of course but I think you both need to hear them out. Either way, we'll verify it soon enough and know for sure what happened and who's responsible."

Hermione had calmed down while he spoke. Harry looked down into her eyes and wiped a tear off her cheek.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

"We need answers," she responded weakly. "But I don't want to be alone with them."

"We won't be," he assured her. "But it's still up to you. If you don't want to see them, you don't have to."

She didn't answer right away and seemed to be mulling it over before meeting his eyes again and nodding her head.

"Fine," he said turning back to Kingsley. "We'll see them tomorrow but we have some security measures we want in place before they get here."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next afternoon Harry and Hermione waited in the sitting room for their guests' arrival. Per their request, there were guards at the front door and with them in the sitting room. The guards at the door were instructed to confiscate their wands and search them for any potions or weapons they might be carrying. They would then escort them to the sitting room and stay for the entire meeting. The women would be escorted to the house by Kingsley who would also stay. There would be more guards stationed outside the front door and in the hallway for extra protection. Despite the security, they were both nervous about seeing the two Weasley women and held tightly to each other's hand while they waited for them to arrive.

They heard a knock on the door and then Kingsley's voice and knew they would soon be there. They both had their wands in their lap for easy access and watched the door in nervous anticipation. A few minutes later the door opened and Kingsley walked in followed by Ginny and her mother. He motioned them to a couch opposite Harry and Hermione and they sat down. There was a table between them that had two trays on it. One had various cakes while the other had a teapot, several cups, a sugar bowl and a little pitcher of milk. Kingsley sat in a chair at the end of the table and Harry noticed he kept his wand ready as well. Ginny had her head bowed and only occasionally looked across the table but avoided eye contact. Mrs. Weasely managed a weak smile while looking remorseful.

"Hello dears," she said nervously. "How are you? You look good. At least I know you're eating well."

They regarded her coldly. Harry wanted to scream at her but decided to give her a chance to explain although he couldn't imagine any explanation that could justify what she did.

"You know more a lot more than that don't you?" He said coldly. "You've known all along that they gave us a potion and didn't do anything about it!"

She visibly flinched and bowed her head for a moment before meeting their eyes again.

"I knew you were given a potion in sixth year," she started. "I didn't know what type of potion you were given nor did I know you were still being given that potion this entire time."

"I heard you two talking!" He said indicating both women. "You gave a potion to Mr. Weasley and seemed proud that Ginny had followed in your footsteps!"

"Did he know you'd given him a potion?" Hermione asked with anger in her voice as well.

"Yes dear," Molly answered. "I told him later that day after it had worn off."

"The potion takes six months to wear off!" Harry said indignant. "The healer at St. Mungos told me."

"The potion you were given yes Harry," she responded calmly. "But not the one I gave Arthur or the one I thought you'd been given. What I gave Arthur was a love boost potion. It doesn't make you love someone else it merely intensifies the feelings you already have and makes you bolder so you'll act on them. I knew Arthur fancied me and I fancied him too but he was too shy to make a move so I gave him the potion to help it along. If I'd have been wrong, he'd have made a move on another girl because it only brings out your true feelings. That's the potion Ginny gave to Ron because she wanted to see if you fancied her but apparently my son had other ideas. He didn't give it to you because if he had you'd have paid even more attention to Hermione rather than Ginny and the worst that would've happened might have been some public snogging that might have been embarrassing but nothing compared to what you both have gone through."

Harry turned to look at Hermione and could tell she was starting to believe what they'd been told. He admitted to himself it was plausible but wasn't willing to accept it just yet.

"Okay, say we believe you," He said in a nicer tone. "How do we know this isn't just some ploy to hang it all on Ron and get us to let Ginny of the hook?"

"Because I don't want you to let me off the hook," Ginny said simply. It was the first time she'd spoken. She had tears in her eyes as she continued.

"I want you to lock me up for the rest of my life because I deserve it. It's still my fault you were given a potion even if it wasn't the one I made. I put the idea in his head and you two suffered because of it. I don't deserve happiness because I helped him try to take yours away."

She broke down and her mother pulled her into her arms and tried to comfort her. Harry waited for her to calm down and then in as gentle a tone as he could manage, asked the only question he had left.

"So why are you telling us this?" He asked.

"Because you two are the best friends I ever had," she responded. "And I didn't want you to go through life thinking that everything we'd gone through together was a lie. I loved our years together at Hogwarts and was honored to fight with you against death eaters and you know who. I cared for you both and would have respected any choices you made. I was overjoyed when you chose me to be your maid of honor Hermione and you know how I felt about you Harry. I could never have done something so despicable to anyone but especially not to you two. That doesn't change my culpability in what happened and I don't expect you to forgive me but I hope someday you'll believe me."

Before either of them could respond, the door opened and a man walked through the door. Harry recognized him as one of the guards. He walked up to Kingsley, whispered something in his ear and handed him a piece of parchment then left. Kingsley read the parchment giving no indication in his expression what was on it. Silence fell in the room as everyone waited to see if Kingsley would tell them what the visit was about. When he looked up, he ignored the Weasely women and focused on Harry and Hermione.

"The interrogation is complete," He said solemnly. "Ron confirmed her story. He said he knew he couldn't use her potion after she told him how it worked because he'd seen you kissing the night before so he chose to use a different potion instead. Ginny never knew about it."

"Where did he get the potion he used?" Harry asked.

"Apparently, he bought it at one of the shops in Knockturn Alley." Kingsley answered. "There are a lot of shady establishments there that deal in illegal items. It's been a problem for years but my predecessors have been unable or unwilling to do anything about it. I plan to start a new investigation immediately and see if we can't clean some of it up."

"How could he have gone there during the school year?" Hermione responded. "Hogwarts students aren't allowed to leave except on Hogsmead weekends and then they're only allowed to go to the village."

"Apparently, he bought it during the summer before school started," he replied. "He originally planned to give it to you then Hermione but, before he could, you all ended up living here and with all the extra security the order had in place here at the time it was too risky. He had a temporary change of heart once you got to school and decided not to give it to you until he saw you kiss Harry. He then decided he would have you whether you wanted him or not and also chose to punish Harry for trying to steal you from him by making him love Ginny so he would be close by and be forced watch his two best friends live their lives together and be happy for them even though it wasn't what he truly wanted. So you see Ginny, you didn't give him the idea; he'd been planning this for some time before then."

He paused momentarily glancing at Harry and Hermione before turning towards the Weasleys.

"Molly there's more," He said hesitantly. "It concerns Ginny and it's shocking. If you'd like, I can wait to tell you until we're alone if you'd rather not have anyone else hear this."

"No," she said after looking at her daughter. "This will all be public soon enough so I don't care if the guards hear and as far as I'm concerned these two," she nodded her head to indicate Harry and Hermione. "Are like my own children and I have no secrets from them especially when it comes to this situation. We need to get this all out in the open so we can get past this and hopefully be a family again. So please tell us everything Kingsley."

"Okay," he responded. He glanced around the room before continuing. "Ron said he purposely got Ginny involved so he could put the blame on her if anyone ever found out about it. Apparently, he got the idea when he caught her with the boost potion. He said she was always a brat when she was little and always got her way because she was the youngest and the only girl in the family so he figured everyone would believe it was her idea because she was never one to take no for an answer. He also said that while he never intended to get caught, if it happened, he would take perverse pleasure in seeing her get her heart broken when Harry tells her he hates her before she's locked up for the rest of her life. As far as he was concerned, she was nothing but a 'boy who lived' groupie who followed Harry around and was willing to do whatever he asked of her. She wasn't even good enough to get him to notice her because she had no idea how little Harry thought of her. She was pathetic and he hated her for it."

Harry felt himself seething with new anger at his former best mate but not for himself or Hermione but for Ginny. Mrs. Weasely had covered her mouth in shock as Kingsley spoke while her eyes filled with tears. Ginny had buried her face in her hands and was sobbing. A glance at Hermione showed that she too was crying. He realized now that Ginny wasn't a co-conspirator; she was yet another victim of Ron's insane jealousy. She too had been forced to live a lie for two years even though she wasn't given a potion. She had believed that the man she'd loved since she was ten had finally come to love her back only to find out that it had been manufactured by her brother as a cruel joke. He realized that Ron had gotten his wish. Harry had broken her heart and in that moment had hated her and planned to have her locked up for a long time.

He realized he didn't know Ron nearly as well as he thought he did. He knew now that the Ron who'd walked out of the tent in a rage during the horocrux hunt wasn't an apparition caused by the locket like he claimed but the true monster inside him that he'd managed to hide from them all this time. It shocked him to realize that the man he'd loved like a brother for nearly a decade he now hated more than he'd ever hated anyone except Voldemort. Even Draco Malfoy had never filled him with as much hate as he felt now.

As soon as Kingsley finished talking, Hermione jumped up, ran around the table and pulled Ginny into a hug. Mrs. Weasley patted her daughter on the back almost mechanically. She was staring off into space lost in her own thoughts with tears running down her face. He'd never seen her so distraught even when Percy was being so hurtful to her. He walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," he started. "This is not your fault Mrs. Weasley. You are a good mother and Mr. Weasley is a good father. It must be my fault. Something must have happened to him while he was with me. Every year, it seemed, somebody was trying to kill me and he, Hermione and even Ginny at times got caught in the middle. He must have gotten hurt worse than we thought in one of those battles and we never realized it."

Molly immediately pulled him into a hug and broke down. When she calmed down she let go of him then reached up and cupped his face with both hands.

"Harry," she said giving him a serious look. "You have saved the life of practically every member of my family at least once and saved Ron multiple times. You saved Arthur when you told Dumbledore about your vision of the attack, saved Bill from that werewolf, rescued Ginny from the chamber of secrets, protected me from Voldemort after I'd killed Bellatrix and put yourself between your friends and danger whenever you could. Not to mention walking out to the forbidden forest and letting Voldemort try to kill you to protect all of us that were fighting in that last battle. Nothing that may or may not have happened to Ron while he was with you was your fault. You didn't ask for some madman to decide you were his most dangerous enemy while you were a baby, try to kill you and keep trying when the first attempt failed. Ron made his choice to stand by you. Whether it was because you were his friend or because he was jealous of your fame and decided that being your friend was the best way to get some of it for himself, we'll probably never know but Arthur and I will never blame you nor will we let you blame yourself."

She paused and gave him a smile.

"I meant what I said Harry," She continued. "I couldn't love you and Hermione any more if I'd given birth to you myself. One of my kids has gone off the deep end. It's not the first time. Percy put us through a difficult time for a while but he found his way back to us. I don't know if Ron can but all I can do is hope. In the meantime, I have several other children to worry about and three of them are in this room. You two are not alone Harry. Let us be there for you. If you're not comfortable coming to the Burrow then let us come here. The whole family is worried about you and just wants to help."

"I don't think we're ready to come to the Burrow just yet," Harry responded smiling. "But we'll definitely have you all over for dinner soon I promise."

"Harry," she replied. "I know Hermione has parents but you don't. Arthur and I would be honored if you would let us be your surrogate parents. We could share the holidays with the Grangers like your parents would, be grandparents to any kids you might have and otherwise just be there to give you advice or support."

"Thank you," He said gratefully. "You've always been like parents to me. You have no idea how much it's meant to me over the years. Please don't worry. We just needed to hide out for a bit to clear our heads and rediscover each other. The potion took away a lot of memories too that we just got back so we're having to reorganize our minds so they'll fit properly. We'll get there in time. Like we told you the other day, we consider you family as well and that's not going to change."

"Harry?" someone called his name and he turned around to see that it was Kingsley. In his rush to comfort Mrs. Weasely, he'd forgotten about everyone else in the room. He felt a hand on his back and turned to see Hermione beside him then gave his attention to his friend.

"Now that we have confirmation," Kingsley said when he had everyone's attention. "Do you have a decision for me?"

Harry exchanged a look with Hermione before answering. She nodded her head letting him know she trusted him to speak for both of them. He smiled at her then turned back to Kingsley.

"Well obviously," he said finally. "Since Ginny is innocent, we have no interest in her being charged with anything."

Ginny started to argue but Harry held up a hand to stop her.

"You heard what Kingsley said Ginny," he told her soothingly. "Ron bought the potion he used the previous summer. You didn't give him the idea to use a potion on us; you only gave him the idea to use you as a scapegoat. And don't think you somehow were responsible for him deciding to use it when he did either. Because you weren't, he did it because he saw us kiss the night before and didn't want to accept it. You were a victim just like we were so you deserve comfort and help healing not punishment."

"As for Ron," he continued looking back at Kingsley. "I think something is wrong in his head. Something happened to cause him to lose touch with the good guy he once was. He's not the boy who put himself in danger so I could get to the Sorcerer's stone or was willing to do whatever it took to save his sister from the chamber of secrets. I'd like to believe that person is still inside him and could be brought back so I think the best place for him would be St Mungos where they may be able to help him."

"Is that agreeable to the rest of you?" Kingsley asked the women.

They all three nodded and, after a few minutes of casual conversation, the meeting started breaking up. Kingsley left to make arrangements for Ron's placement at St Mungos while Harry and the women talked a little while longer until someone mentioned the time.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "I've got to get back to the Burrow and start dinner. We'd better go Ginny."

Ginny nodded and the group made their way to the door. Harry Hugged Mrs. Weasley while Hermione hugged Ginny then they switched. As he hugged Ginny, he again felt regret for the way he treated her at the wedding.

"I'm sorry I was so harsh with you the day of the wedding," He told her as she pulled back from him. "You didn't deserve that."

"You had every right to treat me like you did Harry," she responded. "After the conversation you overheard, it was only natural for you to assume the worst about me."

She paused momentarily and looked down at her feet. When she met his eyes again, she looked nervous and a little sad.

"You never really fancied me did you?" she asked dejectedly.

Harry shook his head while giving her a look of sympathy.

"I'm sorry Ginny," he answered her. "You're a sweet girl and very pretty but I gave my heart away before I ever had a chance to notice."

She nodded her head then turned toward her mother. She wiped at an eye as she followed her mother out the door and Harry knew that, despite trying to be gentle and comforting, He'd just hurt her more than any of the recent revelations about her brother ever could. He hadn't meant to, she'd been through enough that day but she'd asked the question and deserved an honest answer. His heart belonged to Hermione, always had and he figured it probably always would. As if on cue, he felt her arms wrap around him from behind snapping him out of his revelry.

"Are you okay Harry?" she asked softly into his ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "I just feel bad for Ginny. She lost two years of her life as well but doesn't have anyone to help her through it like we do."

"We'll just have to do what we can to help her then," she responded. "Hopefully, in time, we'll all get past this. Ginny's tougher then you realize Harry. With the support of her family and friends, she'll be alright you'll see."

Harry broke the embrace long enough to turn around then took her into his arms and kissed her.

"And what about you?" He asked her. "You seemed pretty upset about what Kingsley told us. How are you doing?"

"I'm ok," she answered. "I didn't think anything about this could shock me anymore but Ron's hatred for his own sister was unbelievable. As well as we knew him, you would've thought we'd have seen it before now. I never thought of Ron as someone who could hide his emotions. He never really had any except jealousy. The only thing he seemed to love was food and quidditch. It was hard to face how much we didn't know about him."

Harry nodded his head in agreement.

"I know," he replied. "It's hard to except but now that we know everything, hopefully we can put it behind us and realize that it's over now. We're safe, we're together and Ron can't hurt us anymore. What say we leave the entry way, go back to the sitting room and start our lives together?"

She smiled at his suggestion and he noticed a gleam in her eyes.

"I thought you'd never ask." She responded then took his hand and led him back down the hall.

A week later Harry and Hermione finally left Grimmauld Pl. They headed to St Mungos. They had decided to visit Ron so they could finally get the closure they needed to put this matter behind them. They made their way to the floor where the criminally insane were held and checked in. they waited for about fifteen minutes before they were led to a visitation room by a guard. As they were about to enter, Hermione hesitated and Harry turned to her concerned.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" He asked her. "If not, I can go in by myself."

"Not really," she answered honestly. "But I'm not letting that stop me nor would I let you face him alone. I just needed a moment to prepare myself. I'm ready now so let's go get this over with."

Harry took her hand and they walked in together. The room was small with a table in the middle of it and a door on the opposite wall. Ron sat on the other side and was flanked by two guards who held their wands ready in case he got out of hand. He glared at them as they entered and sat down across from him in the two empty chairs on their side of the table.

"Come to gloat have you?" he said bitterly. "It's not enough that you've done this to me but now you want to rub my face in it!?"

"Done this to you!?" Hermione responded angrily. "You can't possibly be that daft Ron! You did this to yourself when you gave us the potion! You can't possibly have believed you'd be able to keep us enslaved for the rest of our lives or that we'd laugh it off as a bad joke once we found out and you certainly couldn't expect any of those manufactured feelings to ever become real."

"I should have let the troll kill you both in our first year," he said coldly. "You've both been way more trouble than your worth."

Hermione gasped at his words tears filling her eyes. Harry put a comforting hand on her back as he glared at his former friend while he continued speaking. He looked at Harry ignoring her reaction.

"Because of you I was always in danger and nearly died several times. Oh you saved me of course but I wonder if it was out of friendship or for another heroic chapter in the story of 'The Boy Who Lived'. I suspect it was the latter because despite denying you wanted fame and attention, you always managed to get more than your share and never gave your best friend any of it! And as for you," he said turning to Hermione. "You were nothing but a pushy know-it-all. You were truly insufferable. Always nagging us about the rules or doing our homework. I had a mother Hermione and the best part of going to Hogwarts was getting away from her nagging but you made up for her absence and then some. You know I never really wanted to be your friend don't you? None of us did but you nagged us into it like you did with our homework. Helping us with it was about all you were good for you know? You certainly weren't pretty enough for anyone to want anything else from you."

Harry felt his anger boil over and before he knew it was rising out of his chair but a hand on his shoulder stopped him and he turned to look at the owner of that hand. Hermione just stared at him for a moment. Her eyes glistening with tears she refused to release in Ron's presence. Harry knew she didn't want to give him the satisfaction. She gave him a reassuring look to let him know she was ok and he sat back down then she turned back toward Ron.

"If that's how you feel about me," she responded at last. "Then why give me a love potion?"

"It wasn't because I loved you," He replied in the same cold tone he'd been using. "It was so our beloved hero over here-," he said pointing at Harry. "Could finally see what it was like to be me. All these years, he's had everything handed to him; fame, money and popularity while I had nothing. For once I wanted to have something and let him feel what it's like going without!"

"Everything?" It was the first time Harry had spoken since they'd walked into the room. "You think I had everything because I was famous and had money? I was famous because I survived the killing curse of a madman! The same madman who killed my parents! I had money because they left it to me but I didn't know about it until I was eleven. I didn't exactly grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth in case you've forgotten where I spent my first eleven years and every summer after that while we were at Hogwarts. Do you think I liked being the target of that same madman every year or having the responsibility of destroying him once and for all put on my shoulders? Do you think I wouldn't have rather lived out my life anonymously with my parents and any siblings I might have had if they'd lived? You had two loving parents, six brothers and a sister that adored you not to mention two best friends who would never have abandoned you. And in case you didn't realize it, you were as much if not more popular at Hogwarts than I was. You may not have been rich and got everything you wanted but your parents always made sure you had anything you needed including an abundance of love. You're the one that had everything Ron, you just couldn't see it. We didn't come here to rub your face into anything. We just came to clear the air. I think we've done that so we're going to go now."

He got up and Hermione followed him. He held the door open for her but turned back to Ron before following her through.

"You were a good friend once Ron," he said sadly. "I sincerely hope you can find your way back to that boy you once were that was the best friend we've ever had. Despite what's happened we'll always wish you the best in your life even though we can no longer be a part of it. I don't know where our friend went, but we will always miss him."

He turned to leave and saw Hermione standing beside him. She'd apparently reentered the room when he didn't follow her out. He ushered her back out and was right behind her this time. As soon as they got into the hallway and away from the room, he pulled her into his arms. She immediately buried her face in his chest and started crying releasing the pent up emotion from the words Ron had said to her. Harry held her murmuring soft words of comfort to the top her head her hair tickling his nose. He was reluctant to let go even after she calmed down but eventually she pulled away far enough to look him in the eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked stroking her hair.

She shook her head in response to the question.

"But I will be." she said after a few moments.

"Anything I can do to help?" He replied concerned.

"Yes," she answered nodding her head. "Take me home."

They repositioned themselves so they were side by side instead of facing each other without completely letting go of one another and walked out of the hospital. Then he took her home.

Having already left the room, neither of them saw Ron bury his hands in his face and start weeping. Looking for all the world to be exactly what he was; someone who'd just lost his two best friends and had only himself to blame.


	6. Epilogue

_Well, its been fun posting this story chapter by chapter and seeing the responses I've gotten. Thank you for all the great reviews. You've inspired me to continue writing Harry Potter fic. I've got a partial Idea for a sequel but, if I choose to do it, it won't be for a awhile. I'm currently working on two other Harry Potter stories plus a few others. I also have other, more complete, story ideas waiting in the wings so until I get some of this off my plate, it will have to wait. Thanks again, we'll talk soon._

**Epilogue**

**Two Years Later**

Harry woke early. The morning light was just starting to filter into the room. He loved the quiet at this time of day. It was in these moments that he contemplated his life. When he was a kid, it was usually the bad things that came to mind but nowadays it was only the good things, the best of which was lying next to him. Hermione jerked momentarily before cuddling back into him and moaning contentedly. They'd been married just over a year, yet he still woke up everyday excited to find her next to him. He never wanted that to change because he wanted to fill her life with all the love and happiness he could and make sure she never knew disappointment again. They hadn't visited Ron after that first time but received regular reports from Mrs. Weasley on his progress. There hadn't been much but the healers were still hopeful.

They had remained close with all the Weasleys including Ginny. Hermione again asked her to be her maid of honor and she accepted. Harry asked Neville to be his best man. The two started spending a lot of time together while helping with wedding plans and a passing acquaintance turned into a good friendship until it eventually became much more. They were now engaged and their wedding was in a few months. The two couples had become practically inseparable over the last year. Harry smiled to himself as he thought of his and Hermione's best friends.

He felt something bump against his hip and his smile got wider as he realized it was Hermione's stomach. She was just starting to show and had a small baby bump on her lower abdomen. He carefully reached over and lightly caressed his growing child, moving slowly and softly so he wouldn't wake its mother up. She gave out another soft moan at his touch but didn't stir. He felt a sense of wonderment at the thought of what his child would be like and what kind of father he would be. The only thing he knew for sure was that he or she would be born into a much safer world now that Tom Riddle and his followers were gone.

His thoughts turned to the last two years and he briefly remembered how he got here. A hug at a party celebrating her engagement to Ron caused a buried memory to surface and a misunderstood conversation that he'd overheard started him on a road to reclaiming a love he'd lost in his sixth year at Hogwarts just moments, it seems, after he'd first discovered it. Those two years apart were a blur to him now. They'd more than made up for the lost time but it was still a hole in their life together that would never completely close. It was time lost to them forever. Memories they will never have and moments they will never share because they'd been forced to share those years with someone else instead of each other. Still, they were together now and nothing or no one would ever change that again. They were too careful now and, as a result, didn't leave themselves open to be victimized again. They had become quite skilled in checking their food and drinks for contamination without anyone else knowing. One of them would draw everyone's attention while the other would surreptitiously cast a detection spell then let the other know it was okay by taking a drink or bite of whatever it was. It didn't matter who'd prepared it or how much they trusted them, they would never put themselves or anyone they loved at risk again. They planned to teach their children the spell before sending them to Hogwarts as well.

He felt his thoughts turning dark with thoughts of the past and decided to shake those thoughts away. Wanting to lighten his own suddenly melancholy mood, he did what he always did when he needed a pick me up. He looked at his wife. Her head was resting on his chest. Her head turned slightly up so he could see her face or most of it. Some of her hair had fallen over her face and obscured some of her features. He smiled as he gently pushed the unruly hair out of her face. It was still bushy but was much more manageable than it was during their first year at school. He started softly caressing her cheek once the hair was tucked behind her ear. It was the face that never failed to make his heart flutter. He didn't think he could handle not having her next to him every morning and hoped he would never have to find out. She moaned again and soon a smile appeared on her face. Her eyes fluttered and she looked up at him her smile widening.

"Morning," she said softly.

"Good morning my love," He responded.

She moved up and gave him a kiss before settling back down on his chest.

"Why are you awake so early?" She asked. "Is something wrong?"

"No," he answered running his fingers through her hair. "Everything's fine, in fact, I couldn't be happier. I just wake up early sometimes. It's peaceful, quiet and gives me time to think about things"

"And what things did you need to think about?" she asked concerned.

"Nothing," he responded. "I usually just contemplate my life and seeing as how my life couldn't get any better, I've only been thinking about good things like our family and friends, the baby and of course the most amazing woman I've ever known who blesses me every day by sharing her life with me. I'm truly a lucky man. I think about how I got this lucky once in a while so I'll never forget the reason I'm so happy."

She gave him another kiss and then snuggled back into him. Soon she was asleep again and he, his contemplation complete, felt himself following her back into a peaceful slumber. Just before he fell asleep he reminded himself one more time why he was so happy. 'I kissed Hermione,' he thought to himself then drifted off into a contented sleep.

**The End**


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